Auburn Tigers football fans hoping that Hugh Freeze will give them the same kind of success Bruce Pearl did during his program's Final Four run or Butch Thompson's did during the 2025 postseason may need to brace themselves for disappointment.
Though that hasn't been particularly hard since Gus Malzahn's dismissal in 2020, it is not supposed to be the case heading into Freeze's third season.
Not with the success he's had on the recruiting trail. Or the investment from the On To Victory NIL collective and, in more recent years, the program's biggest financial backers directly.
The Montgomery Advertiser's Adam Cole made it sound like 6-6 is a realistic expectation for the 2025 season; a record that'd match Freeze's first season but at least be an improvement over a 5-7 2024 slate.
"Auburn's seven remaining games prove more difficult. Baylor, Arkansas and Vanderbilt are certainly winnable, but having to play all three on the road throws intrigue into each. The same could be said for the Tigers' SEC opener at Oklahoma, which includes the wrinkle of Jackson Arnold's return to Norman," Cole wrote.
"Auburn's likely hard-pressed for wins beyond that. An early road trip to Texas A&M will bring Freeze back to College Station, where the Tigers lost 27-10 in 2023. The good news for Auburn is it'll host both Alabama and Georgia. The bad news is it's Alabama and Georgia. Auburn fell a combined 10 points short of upsetting either in Freeze's inaugural season, but each will still be a tough out, even with an improved roster."
Tiger fans deserve better. If the trajectory is 6-6 during the season, keeping Freeze may not even be worth it.
Freeze's contract is structured so that his buyout is spread out over many seasons. D.J. Durkin is making seven figures as the defensive coordinator of the side of the football Auburn actually has under control.
Put two and two together. Freeze cannot afford 6-6 and shouldn't get a chance to figure that poorly in 2025 if the first half of the season doesn't go his way.